The invention relates to a portable cooker for cooking and heating foods. More particularly, the invention is directed to a cooker with a burner arrangement that offers improved temperature control across the cooking surface.
Many types of portable outdoor cookers or stoves are available. The most common variety provides an open grill located over a heat source such as charcoal or gas burners. One problem with this type of outdoor cooker is that the juices from the cooking food fall on the heating elements, causing the flames to flare up and associated uneven heating. This can dry out and sometimes burn the food and can be dangerous.
It is also known to provide a solid griddle surface on a cooker for preparing food. However, known griddle designs have several potential drawbacks. First, when using a griddle, foods tend to set in their own juices during cooking. In some cases this can result in food that is overly greasy. Second, known griddle cooker designs tend to concentrate heat underneath the center of the griddle, and not to allow the temperature of the outer edges of the griddle to be adjusted relative to the center of the griddle. Thus, these designs are limited for use in simultaneously cooking different foods at different, controlled temperatures.
One type of cooking surface, known as a Mongolian grill, overcomes some of the limitations of both the open grill and the solid griddle. A Mongolian grill has a solid, slightly convex cooking surface that causes the juice to run off the surface rather than fall onto the heating element. Unfortunately, these cooking surfaces have only been available for use in permanent installations. These expensive iron grills are about 50 inches in diameter and are very large and heavy units which are not portable (i.e., moved from place to place easily by one person). Because of the size, cost and design of these cookers they cannot be used as a portable outdoor cooker.
The present invention provides a portable outdoor cooker for cooking foods. The cooker comprises a substantially circular heat transfer plate, a plurality of individually controllable burners disposed beneath the heat transfer plate, and a frame assembly for supporting the heat transfer plate and burners above the ground and in relation to one another. The heat transfer plate has a center and a perimeter, and includes a cooking surface. The plurality of burners includes an inner burner and an outer burner, the outer burner being positioned adjacent the perimeter of the heat transfer plate and the inner burner being positioned closer to the center of the heat transfer plate than the outer burner such that the cooking surface can be made hotter adjacent the perimeter of the heat transfer plate than adjacent the center of the heat transfer plate.